Synchronous optical networks (SONETs) are an increasingly popular technology used in advanced telecommunication systems. Generally, SONET refers to a standard for optical telecommunications transport formulated by the Exchange Carriers Standards Association (ECSA) for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). SONET networks typically comprise a plurality of network elements interconnected by fiber optic cables. Network elements may comprise link terminating elements, regenerators, add/drop multiplexers (ADM's), as well as other elements. SONET elements may be arranged in any of numerous different configurations such as point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, hub networks, and chain networks. One popular SONET network configuration is the ring architecture. In a SONET ring architecture, multiple network elements such as, for example, ADMs, are interconnected via fiber optics to form a continuous communication link capable of carrying bi-directional or unidirectional traffic between the network elements.
Telecommunication systems such as SONET networks are complex and comprise numerous network elements. Accordingly, element management systems (EMS's) have been generated for tracking the individual components that are comprised within the telecommunication networks. For example, a typical element management system may comprise a database of all of the elements in a particular network along with characteristic information regarding those elements. Although these systems are useful in tracking the provisioning of network elements, they lack in the capacity to allow for systems level analysis. For example, in the case of a SONET network, and in particular a SONET ring, it is useful to analyze the ring at a systems level so as to identify when portions of the ring are at or near capacity. In order to address this limitation, there has previously been developed systems and methods for enabling SONET network analysis. Specifically, systems and methods have been developed for creating graphical representations of SONET rings. A graphical representation of a SONET ring allows for the analysis of the entire ring, not simply portions of the ring. However, these systems too are lacking in their capacity to provide detailed information regarding various aspects of the SONET networks. For example, although a graphical representation of a SONET ring network is useful to create a general picture of the network, it does not communicate the detailed information regarding the components of the network that is necessary for proactively managing the SONET network.